The power of the mind, that's more powerful than the power of the muscles, even weapons of mass destruction, why because the mind builds those weapons and decides whether it would be used for violence or protection.
Who you are and who you will become all stems from your own mind. Mind is more powerful than money too.
Your mind is the center that decides what you do, how you respond to situations, how you feel at any given moment and even how you see yourself.
All that power is for you but you could live life with your own mind being controlled by someone else. If you lose control over your mind, you lose everything.
The truth is that a lot of people don't even notice when their mind is being controlled. Some people are masters of manipulation, to a point where they can influence you to make decisions that'll go against you but you won't even see it until it's too late.
How do people control your mind for you? They do it with some form of pressure, with their opinions, with advertisements, with family expectations and one powerful tool they use a lot is fear. They find a way to infuse their beliefs into you without you even knowing. So slowly, you begin to think thoughts that are not really yours.
You start chasing dreams that are not truly your dreams but theirs. I call that mind theft.
There's a chance you've used a social media platform before, infact, you getting to read this, you're basically using one, or found your way to this blog through one.
Social Media is one hell of a tool. It looks very harmless. Oh, it's just a website or just an app, but if you do not control your own focus, it will control you. If you don't open that platform looking for something in particular that'll benefit you in some type of way, get ready because the algorithm will do its work.
Social Media algorithms are built to feed you what keeps you hooked to the platform and not what makes you wiser, or better. Unless you intentionally search and intentionally watch and intentionally like stuff that brings good information, before you know it, your time, your emotions and even your values are shaped by strangers who do not know you, the content creators as we all call them.
The exact same thing happens with those close to us. I'm not going to be all judgemental about this but there are some parents who try to live their failed dreams through their children. They couldn't become a doctor so they want their baby boy or girl to grow up to become one and they'll push them in that direction without ever considering to find out the interests of that kid.
Even some friends try to push you into choices they would make and not the ones you should make. Because they think some investments are good or maybe gambling on a particular site is good, they force you into that.
All that pressure, all that influence, if you are not firm in your own mind, you end up walking their path instead of yours. The end of that road is almost always regrets because the life you lived was not really yours.
Don't ignore advice, but you have the right to filter it. Just because someone sat you down and advised you doesn't mean you take it all in. There's good advice and then there's the advice that could lead you to a worse situation. Have control over your own decisions and of course you will also be the one to bear the consequences of your choices.
When someone advices you, you should always ask yourself whether it fits who you are or want to be, before you take the advice.
When you put your foot down and make your own choices, those that wanted to decide for you, will not be happy. The problem is that many people are scared to be disliked, so they hand over control. But when you hand over control, you also hand over your peace.
Not everyone has to like you and you need to accept that so you can have true peace of mind. Choose what you want to believe, choose what you want to fight for in life. If you do not choose for yourself, someone else will happily do it for you and a lot of the time, their choice benefits them more than it benefits you.
